What's the dog walking/pet sitting scene like in Portland? (income, living)

[SETabor]

Originally Posted by Mcginty74

Yes, the SAD concerns me. But Portland is my favorite city in the U.S. (the cost of living there seems relatively cheap compared to Boston). I've always wanted to live in the PNW. Really really thinking about it.

If you're truly worried about SAD, don't come to Portland. It is further north than Boston so the daylight in the winter is shorter. It may only be 20 minutes by clock time but the sun just isn't as bright when it does come out behind the clouds. Despite being much colder and snowier, Boston gets more sun in the winter.

Being outside every day will help mitigate it a bit but it is hard in the winter, especially if you already have SAD.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Mcginty74

Being there, I felt like it was a city that had been designed just for me, accounting for all my likes and dislikes. The only drawback is the endless months of rain.

I met someone who's just perfect for me in every way. The only hitch is that she's in the mafia. Minor details!

Winter rain in Portland is one of its defining features. It's not like your quibble is that you don't like the Blazers or Sleater-Kinney.

SAD can certainly be treated, and personally I think the ability to get outdoors in the winter here helps. But in a typical winter it's shades of gray here (how many shades I'm not sure) for weeks if not months. It's a not-insignificant risk.

Can't help you much on the dog walking business, though as anecdote I have a lot of friends with dogs and none, to my knowledge, employ a dog walker. I think it's a bit risky, personally. Climate aside there are lots of differences between metro Boston and metro Portland.

Portland has lower density, lower median salaries, shorter commute times, etc.

[Tulippsy]

I'm not sure there is as much demand for dog walkers/pet sitting services as on the east coast. Portlanders tend to take their pets with them everywhere. Most hotels are dog friendly and many companies allow employees to bring their pets to work. I temped sporadically over the summer and the companies I worked for all had dogs there. No cats though. 😕

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

You might want to try the Bay Area in CA...high COL but I know of a couple of people who support themselves with dog walking...but they also do pet-sitting & house-sitting. Also, I met someone wbo had moved from Orange County in SoCal, who claimed she had a good dog walking/pet-sitting business that started from word-of-mouth...maybe try there? I think as someone else said, the PNW is very dog-friendly, so it's easier to take your dog with you...at least that is my experience. Also, if you have SADD, you'll get more sun in CA.

[Nell Plotts]

I see people who I assume to be dog walkers in my neighborhood regularly (Goose Hollow, NW). There is even a dog exercise business called Run which is expensive. There are also several dogie daycare businesses.

[AndyAMG]

I have been reacquainted with wet dog smell after this weekend... Not fond of it.

You may do well O.P. you won't know until you try. Successful people know it's about determination more than anything. You may ask 100+ people a day whether they need your service and it may be outside a restaurant at 9PM on Tuesday that you asked your 130th person that day. Lo and behold the 130th person says yes. The person whose business failed is the one who asked 50 or 75 people and then gave up feeling it's hopeless rather than going the extra mile. So I believe you know how to do it.

I know someone who owns a donut shop that got the speech about Voodoo, Blue, Krispy, it will never work etc, but they are still doing very well. Its all in the marketing and the quality of the product.

Since you live in Taxachusetts I wont lecture you about our ridiculous high taxes.

I personally dont know anyone who would use your service. Most people prefer to keep their pets in the backyard and have a friend relative take care of them. I pay my sons best friend 10 dollars a day to feed and walk my dog and feed my cat.

SAD is rampant here. We go on two vacations to sunny places one time in Dec and then again in late February or March usually to AZ or HI.

[Nell Plotts]

Basically dog owners in apartments who work long hours and have disposable income are the folks who hire dog walkers.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Oregon residents are more inclined to take the pooch to doggy daycare than to have someone come in and get their dog soaking wet then bring the wet dog home and turn it loose in the house.

[VTHokieFan]

Sleater Kinney is terrible, but I digress

[Linaeve]

A few things. Portland has a TON of doggie daycare that I know a lot of people use because they include dog walking throughout the day. Dog walkers really aren't a big thing here. Also, as others have said Portland is a really dog friendly place. A lot of people take their dogs with them everywhere, use doggie daycare or chose to work close enough to home in order to visit and walk their dog during the day.

Also, the cost of living is HIGH in Portland, much higher than you would expect and it's on the rise due to the increase in people moving here. I'm sure Boston might be more spendy but I can tell you that if you are making $50k or less you will have to live near outskirts where dog walking is really not needed.

If you plan to rent you are looking at $1,300 to $3,000 in rent depending on how close you want to be to the city and how many rooms you are looking for. Probably your best luck in finding people with disposable money to spend on a dog walker would be downtown SW Portland and its expensive to live there.

Projections show that cost of living in Portland should be on par with San Fran within the next 5 years and given how rent a housing costs have increased by nearly 8 to 15% in the last year it's not surprising me.

Another thing to keep in mind is that there is an EXTREMELY high amount of people moving to Portland right now. Houses are selling for $30k to $100k OVER asking price and within days to a month at most. Rent has increased by nearly $300 to $500 a month in the last year in most places and the apartments are filling fast. It's really difficult to find a place to live here right now, especially if you don't have a good amount of funds in your hands right away.

As far as the SAD goes, it really makes me caution you moving here. You have to keep in mind that while Oregon rain probably goes on and off from October to April the grey skies here are from late August and September to May. So even when it's raining there is a LOT of grey. If you do move here be sure to invest in some SAD lights and plan to have a Vitamin D supplement, most people here in the NW need it.

Ok and finally, as far as people being "nice" it's all relative. My husband is from back east with has helped me learn a lot... If you are on the Eastside of Portland I feel you encounter more friendly of an atmosphere, they are almost more of the laid back "hippie" crowd. If you go to the Westside and the other locations near there (Tigard, Beaverton, Hillsboro, etc) you are going to encounter a greater amount of higher end business and technical crowd and frankly in my experience out there they are definitely more "keep to our own" crowd. Oregon has TERRRIBLE drivers and unless you live in the heart of SW Portland you will need to drive unless you want hour+ commute with public transportation (and NO ONE on the public transportation system is nice).

Having said all that, I do enjoy Portland, it has a lot to offer. But cost of living, rude people, terrible drivers and a very grey time with very little season differences (barely hot weather for a few weeks in summer and only a day or two of snow in the winter and the rest is rain) are some reasons I caution people. That and there is just a lack of jobs and housing here right now. The immigration into the city is just insane right now.

So if you make the move, good luck and I hope you enjoy but I would consider some other places first.